


Seventeen Seconds of Summer

by healingqilin



Series: Four Seasons, Five Songs [4]
Category: Ailee (Musician), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: AT THE END BUT DON'T WORRY EVERYTHING'S OKAY, Babies, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Married Couple, Married Life, featuring Chanyeol at the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 10:53:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13409733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/healingqilin/pseuds/healingqilin
Summary: Jihoon realizes just how much family life has changed him, especially now that his brood of children has two new additions.





	Seventeen Seconds of Summer

**Author's Note:**

> And we have reached the last part of the 4S5S series. For those who have read from the first part, thank you so much. For those who've left kudos, A HUGE THANK YOU TO Y'ALL! To my first mate to this tiny ship [xiujihun](http://archiveofourown.org/users/xiujihun/pseuds/xiujihun), thanks so much for the support in and out of this fic haha. All the hearts to you~ <3
> 
> (once again, unbeta-ed so apologies for any mistakes)

_Focused and collected_. That’s how Carats described renowned lyricist and composer Lee Jihoon to be. Nothing could distract him from his work. Not his playful children. Not the family’s dogs. Heck, his house could be on fire and a magnitude five earthquake could happen and he’d still be finishing his songs.

His colleagues know that too. So it’s a rare, almost impossible occurrence to find Jihoon with his head in the clouds while in a music studio.

“Jihoon, did you hear what I said?” Chanyeol asks his favorite business partner. Jihoon is in Seoul for three days to assist him in producing a rookie idol group’s second extended play.

The shorter man blinks and adjusts his glasses. “What?”

“I asked you if the percussions were a little too much or if I should tone it down a bit.”

“Oh,” Jihoon says, having not yet fully returned to reality. “It’s cool as it is.”

“Are you sure? You’ve been spacing out from time to time since you got here. You feeling unwell?”

He is, in fact, feeling just fine. The coffee he had this morning was brewed to perfection. Hearing his wife’s voice and his children’s giggles via a video call already made his day. The drive to Chanyeol’s office was strangely hassle-free. The start of his day was excellent. And that is exactly the reason why he isn’t paying much attention to Chanyeol.

“I miss them,” mutters Jihoon. It’s out of character for him to say that out loud, and he’s aware of it. But he does feel that lingering emptiness which he brought from his hotel room. Having been married for six years and being surrounded by toddlers day and night, separation anxiety hit him harder than when he first left home for idol training.

Chanyeol pats and squeezes his friend’s shoulder. “Why don’t you bring them all here next time for a visit? Or better yet, move back here with Ailee _noona_ and the kids.”

Jihoon sighs. “I’ve been away from home for most of my teen and young adult years that I wanted to stay in Busan if ever I got married.”

That was his wish, which Yejin wholeheartedly agreed to. Raising their babies there wasn’t a walk in the park but it was a whole lot easier with the extra pairs of hands his parents offered. And being away from the hustle and bustle of the capital certainly lessened his stress levels. There’s no need for him to stay in Seoul again permanently as of yet.  

The taller man saves whatever progress he’s made on his work. “When was the last time you were here again?”

“A year and a half ago? I’m not even sure anymore.”

“Seungcheol’s wedding, right? He has a baby now, I hear.”

“Yeah, a daughter. Really cute. She has her dad’s eyelashes.”

Chanyeol grins and faces his monitor, ready to continue his project. “Both of you have girls for firstborns. I won’t be surprised if you both enter that overprotective-father phase once they hit their teens.”

“I think I already am in that phase,” Jihoon says. “Especially now that I have four daughters.”

Chanyeol abruptly pulls his hands away from his keyboard. He looks at his friend once more. His large eyes are enough to tell Jihoon exactly what he’s thinking, yet Chanyeol speaks anyway. “Did...did you say _four_?”

Jihoon nods shyly.

“Wait, wait, wait. So you have Sejung and Seeun,” Chanyeol counts with his fingers, “and your only son, Sejoon. You have two more kids? That I don’t know of?”

“I thought you followed my wife on Instagram.”

“I do!” Chanyeol grabs his phone from the desk. “It’s just that I’ve been so busy I barely had enough time to even check any social media apps except KakaoTalk.” He taps on the app. “Two more kids. My God, Jihoon. What did you do to Ailee _noona_?”   

Jihoon frowns and crosses his arms. “You’re making it sound like I forced myself on her. Having another baby was something planned. We just didn’t plan to have—”

“Twins!” Chanyeol brings his free hand to his mouth as he gasps. “Oh my God. They’re adorable.” He continues muttering more ‘Oh my God!’ and ‘Twins!’ while scrolling Yejin’s Instagram feed.

“Thank you, _hyung_.”

“The cute genes run strong in your family.” Chanyeol’s smile goes from ear to ear. “And congrats! Oh, did _noona_ have a hard time?”

Jihoon spaces out again remembering Yejin’s pregnancy and labor process. To this day, he can’t fathom why she wanted to have another child. Three was enough. Financially and mentally speaking, Jihoon was fit to father another one. It was Yejin he was worried about. She isn’t getting any younger and conceiving at her age would be a risky move for both her and the would-be baby. Yet she insisted. And in true Lee Jihoon fashion, he yielded to his beloved’s wish.

News of the twins came as a huge surprise, but it wasn’t uncommon to happen to older mothers as the OB-GYN had told the couple. Jihoon didn’t know how to react to the sonogram. He was fine with one more and expected to have only one more. Yejin was in tears and she kept hugging her husband at home after the check-up. Jihoon was on the verge of crying too. His heart fought for the reason why: was it happiness or fear? Ever since becoming a father he found himself obsessed with reading up on birthing and parenting stories online in his spare time. For some strange reason, he always ended up reading blogs about miscarriages or postpartum depression which only added to his anxiety over his wife and babies. Nothing severe has ever happened to them, thankfully.

Yejin only had to lessen some physical activities and at the same time get enough exercise which was understandably confusing. The family stayed indoors most of the time, only to go out for groceries, check-ups, and quick walks in the park or at the beach. There was that one bleeding scare, and at her third trimester, Yejin became too easily exhausted to walk around the house.

“I wouldn’t say that there were problems, nor would I say it was a smooth ride,” Jihoon tells him.

“Did she have a C-section?”

“She had a VBAC.”

“What...what’s a VBAC?”

“It stands for Vaginal Birth After Caesarian—wait _hyung_ , aren’t we supposed to be finishing this song?”

“Ah, right! I’m sorry.” Chanyeol cracks his knuckles. The company would be calling him soon for updates on the song. “Let’s finish this quickly so you can go home to your family,” he says with his familiar beaming smile.

 

 

“...Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty- _chee_ , twenty- _fouw_ , twenty- _fai_ , twenty- _siss_ , twenty- _seben_ , twenty-eight, twenty-nine…” Sejoon counts as he strokes Kanu’s fur.

Yejin steadies her phone while recording her son. “Go on, sweetie. What comes next?”

“Twenty-ten!”

She guffaws heartily. “ _Twenty-ten?_ I bet your Uncle Seokmin taught you that.”

The dogs who are lying down with Yejin and Sejoon on the bed suddenly sit up and sniff the air. Cookie jumps off first, followed by Somi. Kanu looks like he wants to join too, but he deems having belly rubs from the young master is more important. Yejin turns to her twin babies on their play mat beside the bed.

“Guess who’s home?” she asks them in a singsong manner.

“Daddy!” Sejoon answers for his little sisters, jumping off to run to the door. Even then, Kanu stays on the bed.

“You don’t wanna go meet your papa?” Yejin asks her dog.

When Kanu whimpers and snuggles his head in between his paws, Yejin frowns and pats his head. “You old dog. You’re still cute though.”

Sejoon is still at the door yet his voice reaches the master’s bedroom as if he’s right there. “Mommy, mommy, daddy is home!”

Yejin stands up and carries her daughters to the bed. “Come on, my darlings. Let’s move you over here so daddy won’t have to crouch on the floor.”

Jihoon enters the room still wearing his heavy travel backpack. As he greets his wife, he nearly cracks into laughter at his welcoming party: a wriggling three-year-old boy in his arms and two tiny dogs hopping around his legs.

“I’m home, love.”

Yejin presses a firm kiss on her husband’s lips. She rests her face on Jihoon’s cheek, taking in the warmth and scent his pillow couldn’t provide for those three days he was away.

“Welcome home, dearest. I missed you.”

“I missed you more,” Jihoon says, nuzzling his nose into her hair and setting his backpack to the floor along with Sejoon. “And our babies. Speaking of, where are my princesses?”

The twins squeak and coo at the perfect moment. Sekyung, the older of the two, is more physically active. Seyoung is a more mild-mannered baby like her _eonni_ Seeun, but would vigorously flap her pudgy arms and legs whenever her current favorite song, _Man Out of You_ from the movie _Mulan_ played.

Jihoon props himself on his elbows and knees over his daughters. Sejoon wanted to copy his dad too but he settles for lying down next to his sisters. He’s on mommy and daddy’s soft, big bed anyway.

The twins stop cooing and smile when Jihoon’s face comes into their view. They’re already old enough to recognize things like a person’s hairline, fringe, or in this case, their daddy’s glasses.

“Were you being good to mommy?” he asks them, pressing kisses onto their tummies.

“Yes! They being quiet,” Sejoon replies as his sisters’ unofficial spokesperson. Jihoon finds it adorable how his son said his sentence slowly and still lacked a few particles.

“And were you a good _oppa_ to them?” Jihoon tickles his son.

Sejoon manages to blurt out a “Yes!” in between laughing and squirming.

Their two older girls have just returned from a walk with grandma and grandpa. Noticing Jihoon’s shoes at the door, they dash to the master’s bedroom and leap on their father’s back.

“Yay! You’re home! You’re home!” Six-year-old Sejung wraps her arms around Jihoon’s neck.

Sweet little Seeun lays her cheek on the spot on her dad’s head Sejung isn’t already covering. “I missed you, daddy,” she says.

“I missed you too, kiddos.” Jihoon stiffens his arms as so not to squish his infant daughters from the weight of their older sisters. He pushes himself upwards to kneel when the two older girls still won’t let go. Even then, they cling on to their father. “Are you sloths or koalas?”

“Koalas!” Seeun squeals.

“We can’t be sloths, daddy. Uncle Wonwoo is already a sloth,” Sejung says matter-of-factly.

Years ago, back when his job was the main thing that occupied Jihoon’s mind, becoming a family man wasn’t even one of the few thoughts he would think on occasion. Sure, dating and getting a girlfriend came to his imagination but committing to a relationship and having kids didn’t even seem like options to him when he was younger. Now he can’t bear one day apart from his wife and his children. Having them like this—rough-housing and talking loudly—would have made a 20-something-year-old Jihoon lose his patience and unleash the beast within him. Parenthood really has made him grow soft.

His wife sits on the edge of their bed as she watches their older kids cuddle the two newest additions to the family. Jihoon had always believed Yejin to be more of a trooper than he ever was or will be. Aside from carrying the twins and giving birth to them, she still did an excellent job taking care of Sejung, Seeun, and Sejoon. It’s like all the hardship she experienced only a couple of months ago never even happened.

 

 

At two months old, Sekyung and Seyoung are ready to get their vaccines. Yejin is definitely the most excited for this. She took videos of her first three babies’ first shots while her poor husband had to be the one keeping them from thrashing about while the doctor gave them their injections. It’s because he has stronger arms, she explained to him one time. Yes, but only because he had to hold down and comfort one child at a time. Jihoon had no right to complain about having twins when he already had three kids before them.

While waiting to be called, Yejin has the twins in her arms as she reads the informative posters on the walls. Jihoon beside her cocks his head to the side, examining his baby daughters. “I think they grew bigger. Like, abnormally bigger.”

“Babies grow quickly,” says Yejin. “I’d be more surprised if they didn’t.”

“No, really. They’re huge for their age. They’re already bigger than your whole torso.”

The twins are only eight weeks old but they already seem to understand what their parents are saying. They stretch their little bodies in Yejin’s arms and by doing so, prove their father’s observation.

“Mommy and daddy are such small people, so how did you two get so big in such a short time?” Yejin kisses her baby daughters’ heads. “You were both really tiny when you were born.”

“I told you before,” Jihoon says. “It must be your milk.”

Out of ideas for a retort, Yejin squints at her husband. She and Jihoon were chubby babies too but not compared to the twins. And their three older kids too, now that she recalls. He’s probably right. How were they all so round and squishy when all they ate before eating solids was her milk?

“But it’s cute though,” comments Jihoon. “Their arms and legs are like bread rolls. I could just eat them.” He proceeds to play bite Seyoung’s thigh.

Unaware of what is happening, Seyoung simply smiles at her father. Her bouncy cheeks push up her eyes into thin crescents.

“Daddy, can we get ice cream later?” Sejung asks her dad. She sways cutely from side to side, showing off the floral pattern on her new lemon yellow sundress.

“Me too, daddy!” Seeun chimes in.

“I want ice cream, daddy!” Sejoon squeezes in between his older sisters.

This whole scenario triggers Jihoon’s memory. It wasn’t of his members, no. But rather of a short video clip he stumbled upon of a confused and helpless Samoyed being surrounded by his puppies.

“Alright, alright. We’ll all get ice cream after the doctor sees Sekyung and Seyoung,” he tells his kids.

“All of us?” Yejin joins in, raising her eyebrows knowingly.

“You’re still craving for sweets?”

“Postpartum cravings, dearest. It exists.”

The check-up with the pediatrician and the babies’ vaccinations goes by with the twins crying their butts off. Other than his babies turning as red as cherry tomatoes screeching from the needle pricks, Jihoon notices just how well he and Yejin were raising their kids. Sejung is a real big sister, stepping forward at the first sight of Sekyung and Seyoung cringing in pain to pat their heads. Seeun normally cries at the sight of other children crying, but watching her _eonni_ being very mature for her age prompts her to do the same. As the gentlest of the siblings, she stands next to her father and coos sweet words to her baby sisters to comfort them. Sejoon who is seeing this all for the first time thinks the pediatrician is hurting his sisters. He stomps his foot a couple of times and scolds her. Yejin has to pull him back from hitting the poor lady who’s only trying to do her job.

“Your children are such great older siblings, especially this tough tiger right here,” the pediatrician taps Sejoon’s arm. “Don’t worry little man, I didn’t hurt your baby sisters. I only gave them some special medicine so they won’t get sick.”

Sejoon’s furious expression soften. Seeing as he’s still appears unconvinced, the two older girls trap their younger brother in a bear hug to help him chill out.

“So can we have ice cream now?” asks Sejung.

“Yes,” Jihoon says, rubbing the bellies of his twin babies on his lap. They’re slowly calming down. “We can have ice cream now.”

 

 

Yejin stares at her phone’s weather app. _Busan 31°C_. That’s the hottest she’s ever remembered the city to be. It isn’t as hot as, say, the Philippines and such, but having been raised in New Jersey (a cold place), then moving to Seoul and Busan (equally just as cold), 31 degrees is enough to make her start sweating.

She tosses and turns in bed. Looking for a cool spot to sleep in is especially difficult during the summer. At certain points, she’d sit up and look at the door only to recall that yes, she did turn on the AC in her children’s room and the kids are tucked in. Mama instincts have made her a little more jittery, a little more careful too. Becoming a mom has also possibly helped her remember things better. She thinks that maybe the “goldfish” nickname didn’t even suit her anymore.

“How about ‘elephant’ then?” Jihoon suggests. Even with the heat (thought their air-conditioner was on), he has the blanket pulled all the way up to his neck. “They’re known to have excellent memory.”

She lightly punches him on the shoulder. “I’m too small to even consider having that nickname.” Giggles escape the couple’s lips.

Silence befalls them afterward. Nothing new, really. Jihoon’s never the talkative type in the first place. Times like these allow for both of them to enjoy each other’s presence. Most of their dates prior to their marriage are like this: a lot of fond gazes and caressing of fingers over and under the restaurant tables. Every time Yejin locks eyes with this man, _her_ man, her heart flutters like the very moment she realized that she was in love with him. She had denied it once in fear for both their careers. And then it didn’t matter at that point. New groups will pop up like mushrooms but people will still remember Seventeen. People will still remember Ailee. She gave in to her emotions, and a few months after Jihoon’s discharge from the military and his group’s comeback, she made the first move.

One of the twins whimpers in their crib at the foot of the bed. Yejin pays it no mind. They’re probably just dreaming. After getting a fever from the vaccinations, it’s a miracle they had fallen asleep quickly. As soon as she had finished nursing and burping the babies, Jihoon had lulled them to sleep in both his arms. He had sung their lullaby, the only one he rewrote at the last minute upon learning that they were going to be twins. Not even seventeen seconds later (more or less), Sekyung and Seyoung had dozed off. Jihoon had continued rocking them, slowly laying them down in their crib while finishing the song.

The air in the bedroom feels heavy all of a sudden. Yejin faces her husband who’s peering at her from the edge of the blanket. She knows what his tired eyes looked like. They look dull like a whole day of working sucked out the energy in him and he was ready to crash. It isn’t like that now. There’s a sheen over his irises, and a strong hint of sadness too.

“Dearest, what’s wrong?”

Jihoon shakes his head and presses his face to his pillow. Yejin puts her arm around him and rubs his back. That action alone is enough to make his shell open up. He inhales deeply through his nose and with a voice on the verge of cracking, he asks her,

“Why did you marry me?”

Yejin’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Because you asked me to.” The tone of the last word fluctuates as if she doesn’t know whether to end it as a statement or a question.

“You could have said ‘no’.”

“Why in the world would I say ‘no’? To you?”

Jihoon slides deeper under the covers. “I guess…I always believed you deserved someone else better than me.”

“This summer heat’s messing with your head, isn’t it?” Yejin strokes her husband’s fringe. He still looks handsome and youthful with one despite nearing his forties.

“I feel like I’m wasting your time being your husband.” Jihoon purses his lips. He wants to turn away to keep his pooling tears from her view. “I feel like I can never give you the things you deserve.”

“And what is it that you think I deserve?” Yejin scoots closer to him, cupping his cheek in her hand. “Designer bags? Luxury cars? A mansion? Children who’d grow to be six-foot-two? I don’t need those, dearest. When you knelt down in front of me and took out that ring box, I answered ‘yes’ before you could even ask me the question. Do you remember that? I did that because, in those few milliseconds, I knew—I was sure of what I wanted.” She wipes the lone tear falling down the side of Jihoon’s nose. “To be with you.”

With his face still half-hidden under the blanket, Jihoon chokes up and begins sobbing. He doesn’t deserve her. He insists that he doesn’t. Yet she’s right beside him, lying down so close to him that their noses are touching for that matter. And she keeps her eyes trained on him like he’s the only other person in her world.

“My dear sweet husband,” she continues, caressing his hair as she speaks, “we’ve known each other for far longer than most newlywed couples could even imagine. I met you when we were trainees! Can you believe that? And we’ve been extremely close ever since.”

She gently kisses his forehead, then down to the tip of his nose, and then to his soft pink lips, she gives him her most passionate kiss. Jihoon sniffles and returns the kiss, bringing his hand up to cradle his wife’s face.

Years ago, the mere thought of this kind of scene made Jihoon blush hard. He was once firm in his belief that no one would ever love him this way. How could anyone, let alone the beautiful and talented Ailee, ever love a small, unassuming man like him?  It all still feels like a dream to him—his wedding ring, his kids...sleeping with and waking up to the sight of the literal love of his life. Everything that he had written in his songs, everything that he had hoped to experience, he’s living all of that right at this moment.

Their lips part. Yejin gives him quick peck again before the warmth completely disappears from his skin.

Jihoon and Yejin gaze at each other under the low hum of the air-conditioning, the ticking of the wall clock, and the sound of their breathing.

“You have no idea how blessed I am to have you as my friend, my partner, and the father of my children,” Yejin whispers. “I vowed that you will have my love for as long as I live, and I intend to keep that. I swear to you. In our next lifetime and the lifetimes after that, I will still say ‘yes’ to you.”

The twins giggle in their sleep at the same time. They must be having a shared dream of their older siblings and of their mommy and daddy. It could be of daddy returning home the other day, or of the prick of the injections that weren’t that big of a deal. Maybe they’re dreaming of something that’s yet to come. As a huge family made with love and music, there’s bound to be a lot of fun stuff in store for them in the future. And both Jihoon and Yejin surely look forward to making more wonderful memories with the five songs they made together.

 

 

End.

 

**Author's Note:**

> YOU'VE REACHED THE END! THANK YOU FOR READING THIS SERIES AND JOINING ME IN THIS JOURNEY OF SORTS. The Lee babies love you! Woozi and Ailee love you! ^u^
> 
> Also...
> 
> Does...anyone want me...to write about the Lee babies in their teen years? ;)


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